SoVote

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Jun/20/22 3:11:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the latest IPCC report advanced the clock on “too late”. To have any hope of holding to 1.5°C or even 2°C, global emissions must peak before 2025 and drop rapidly from there to roughly half by 2030. Net zero by 2050 will not make any difference without deep cuts before 2025. We are 30 months from too late. When we get back here in September, we will have 28 months, yet the government continues to approve fossil fuel expansion. Who would care, in this place, to explain this madness?

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Context: House Hansard - 92 - Jun/20/22

Mr. Terry Duguid (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.)

Jun/20/22 11:52:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague for Saanich—Gulf Islands for her remarks. I agree with her that the recent IPCC report is a stark reminder of the impacts of climate change and the urgency for action. As climate impacts intensify, it is only becoming more obvious that moving to a clean, net-zero economy is critical to protecting the well-being of Canadians and communities, and securing Canada's economic prosperity. At COP26, Canada announced it would take additional action to significantly reduce GHG emissions from the oil and gas sector by setting emissions caps. At COP26, Canada also joined over 100 countries in signing the global methane pledge to reduce global anthropogenic methane emissions by 30% by 2030. Canada will lead the way on oil and gas methane by going beyond our current target of 40% to 45% by 2025 to reduce emissions by 75% by 2030. As countries and businesses around the world move rapidly toward net-zero emissions, more ambition is needed today to ensure that Canada is not left behind and can secure a foothold in a low-carbon future. In 2021, the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act became law. The act enshrines Canada's commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, establishes Canada's 2030 target as the first key milestone for this path, and ensures a transparent and accountable process in meeting our climate objectives. The 2030 emissions reduction plan, or the ERP, was established on March 29 and is the first of many to come under the act. The ERP is about more than achieving incremental GHG emissions reductions to reach Canada's 2030 target. It is also about putting in place foundational measures to ensure that Canada's future is not only carbon neutral, but that it also makes energy alternatives more affordable and creates new, sustainable job opportunities for workers. The ERP includes a suite of new mitigation measures and strategies. It builds on the foundation set by the pan-Canadian framework and the 2020 strengthened climate plan, and considers the best available science, indigenous knowledge and the advice of the net-zero advisory body. Achieving Canada's climate objectives will be a whole-of-economy and whole-of-society effort. Every economic sector has a role and responsibility to reduce emissions, but the pathway to achieving emissions reduction will look different for each. The 2030 ERP takes into account this reality. It sets out guideposts for each sector to further reduce emissions, and highlights the measures and strategies towards an emissions reduction of 40% below 2005 levels. We are taking action in the electricity sector and will work with provinces and utilities to establish a pan-Canadian grid council to promote clean electricity infrastructure investments. I see I am running short on time, but we are doing many more things, including investing in nature and natural climate solutions to deliver additional emissions reductions, and making significant new investments to support a sustainable future for Canadian farmers. As the hon. member knows, we will be instituting an emissions cap and taking further measures to reduce our emissions.

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Context: House Hansard - 92 - Jun/20/22

Ms. Elizabeth May

Jun/20/22 11:56:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I now have to ask the parliamentary secretary, who is an old friend, if he has read the IPCC report, because his answer reflects the usual complacency we hear. The government is doing things. There is no denying there are many programs, but the totality of those programs does not ensure that we can hold to 1.5°C or 2°C. In fact, they do the opposite. Net zero by 2050, by itself, is not science: It is a marketing slogan. What we have to look at is that last year, 619 people in British Columbia died in four days. There were wildfires across the province and floods in November. All that has happened to Canada right now at a 1.1°C global average temperature increase. We are on track for three times more. It is not survivable. Nothing matters if we do not get this right.

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Context: House Hansard - 92 - Jun/21/22

Mr. Terry Duguid

Jun/21/22 12:15:37 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just to reiterate, our government is committed to ensuring a just transition, including ensuring that Canada's workers have the skills necessary to take advantage of these opportunities by consulting on just transition legislation and by supporting sustainable jobs in every region of the country. Over the past two years, we have made historic investments in support of economic recovery, climate action, and skills and training that will create sustainable jobs. We are making investments in carbon capture and storage. By way of comments from the IPCC, which the hon. member is fond of quoting, it will be an important part of the mix in getting to our 2030 targets and net zero by 2050 and sharing this technology with the world.

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